


Put Two Ships in the Open Sea

by Howlingdawn



Category: Aquaman (2018)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Spoilers, aquaman spoilers, best friends au, requested by a tumblr anon, this was supposed to be a 5+1 but i fell so in love i kept going
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 10:18:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17201663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Howlingdawn/pseuds/Howlingdawn
Summary: ...without wind or tide, and at last, they will come together.AQUAMAN SPOILERS. One day, Mera catches Vulko sneaking out of the palace. She follows him, and the person she finds changes her life forever.





	Put Two Ships in the Open Sea

**Author's Note:**

> I! LOVE! THIS! FIC! I keep forgetting this AU isn't canon tbh, it's beautiful and one of my favorite things I've ever written, cause on top of Mera and Arthur as kids and BFFs, I got to dabble in Mera and Atlanna's relationship (they held hands for like half a second after the reunion and I can't stop thinking about that). I hope you guys enjoy it!

Mera stared in frustration at the lump of fabric on the table before her. As a twelve-year-old princess, she already knew how to do more stuff than most girls her age. Cooking, she could do. Fighting, she could do. She knew all sorts of fancy social rules, and the histories of the seven kingdoms, and was really good at zoning out during boring stuff while looking like she was actively listening. But knitting?

Knitting was the _worst_.

Atlanna rested a soothing hand over hers. "There's no need to be frustrated, darling."

"But what if I never get it?"

Atlanna tilted her chin up, into the position Daddy always said was best for a princess. "Then that is perfectly fine. Not everyone can do everything, Mera. We all have different talents and skills – that is what makes life _interesting_. Imagine if we all looked the same, had the same hobbies, did the same things – how boring, right?"

Mera nodded, beginning to smile.

The queen smiled in return, tapping the knitting. "Now, why don't you try again? Take as much time as you need – speed isn't worth frustration."

She took up the needles again, reaching for a new skein of yarn.

Someone knocked on the open door, catching their attention: Vulko. He tucked his hands behind his back, dipping his head courteously to the royals. "Princess Mera, a pleasure to see you. Queen Atlanna, if we could talk in private a moment?"

Atlanna rose, and Mera caught a flash of unreadable emotion in her eyes. "Mera, I'll return in a few minutes. Stay here, please."

The two adults swam outside, closing the door behind them. Mera considered obeying, but the thought had hardly crossed her mind before she was out of her chair and following them. She pressed her ear to the crack between the door and the wall, listening to their hushed conversation.

"Is there any message you would like me to pass along?" Vulko was asking.

Atlanna paused before answering. "Just… tell him I love him."

 _Him?_ Mera wondered. _Who does she love? Surely she doesn't Vulko to pass such a message along to the king or the prince…_

Vulko's tone was warm. "That is a given, my queen. I will return in a few hours."

"Be careful."

"I always am."

_Be careful? Why are they being so secretive?_

The door cracked open. Mera leapt back, sure she was about to get caught. But Atlanna left the opening small, too small to see Mera's empty chair. "I must use the restroom – I'll be back soon. Keep knitting, Princess."

Not waiting for a reply, she shut the door.

 _Oh, I am so_ not _knitting after that._

Mera opened the door, peeking down the corridor. Atlanna disappeared around the corner, and Mera slipped out and headed in the other direction. She hurried forward, managing to catch sight of Vulko turning the corner. Calling upon the sneaking methods Atlanna had taught her – in case Xebel was ever invaded or she had to run for some reason, she had said – Mera followed him.

He slipped out of one of the palace's back entrances, about as near to the sea floor as highborns ever got. Then he went even lower, and Mera wrinkled her nose as they swam through rotting wreckage dotted by fish carcasses. Only when they had snuck out of a crack at the bottom of Atlantis's border wall and swum well out of sight of it did he begin to rise closer to the surface.

Mera had never been outside in the open like this. No ship, no guards, just her, Vulko, and the water.

It was freeing.

It was terrifying.

A flicker of movement from darker waters caught her attention: A shark. Racing straight towards her, massive jaws gaping open.

She screamed.

Vulko whipped around, eyes flying wide at the sight of her. He darted towards her, grabbing her with one arm and shoving her behind him. He threw his other up in a quick punch, catching the shark on the nose. It veered upwards, mouth snapping shut, and swam past the duo, disappearing into the ocean again.

Mera shrank against Vulko, heart pounding in her chest. He hugged her protectively, carrying her into the shelter of a nearby rock formation. Finding her a place to sit, he finally spoke. "Princess, what are you doing here?"

"I- I wanted to see what you and Atlanna were talking about."

"You were eavesdropping."

"Knitting is boring," she muttered defensively, forgetting her terror. Adults were _always_ not telling her interesting things.

Vulko sighed. "I know the obligations of a princess aren't always thrilling, but Mera, you can't be here. If we're caught…"

"Daddy won't let anything happen to me," she said confidently. "And I would protect you."

A faint smile crossed the man's face. "I have no doubt you would try."

Mera crossed her arms. "Besides, I'm already here. I might as well keep going."

Vulko pursed his lips, considering her. "All right," he finally relented. "But you must tell _no one_ of what happens. Not even your father. Understood?"

Mera nodded – keeping secrets was another thing she was good at. "Promise."

He held out his hand. "Come on, then."

She took it, and they resumed swimming. Eventually, they left the sea, emerging onto an empty beach of sand. The sun shone overhead, birds squawking as they flew through the warm air. She tilted her face towards the sun, a rare pleasure.

"Vulko!"

Mera jumped, spinning towards the voice. A shaggy-haired boy ran towards them, wearing a baggy shirt and pants Mera had never seen underwater. Remembering tales of fierce surface-dwellers who attacked that which they feared, Mera warily lifted a hand, wondering if she should try her limited aquakinesis against him.

Vulko gently nudged her hand down. "He's a friend, Mera."

She furrowed her brows. _A friend? On land?_

The boy skidded to a halt, spraying them with sand. Mera curled her lip, trying to shake it off her leg. He didn't notice, looking up at Vulko with excitement radiating from every part of him. "How's my mother?"

Vulko smiled, flicking a stray lock of hair out of the boy's face. "She misses you, and she loves you."

_How's my mother?_

_Just… tell him I love him._

Mera gaped. " _You're_ Queen Atlanna's _son_?"

He furrowed his brows at her. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Vulko knelt to their level, resting a hand on each of their shoulders. "Arthur, this is Princess Mera of Xebel. Mera, this is Arthur, and yes, he is Atlanna's son and proper heir."

"But… why does he live on the surface? Why doesn't anybody know about him?"

"His father is human, and Atlanna was attacked once for fleeing her marriage to Orm's father," Vulko explained. "Atlantis isn't safe for Arthur."

"Not yet, anyway," Arthur said. "Vulko says I can go when I'm big and strong."

Mera eyed him dubiously.

"I've been teaching him our ways," Vulko told her. "But there is one thing he's never seen. Why don't you show him your aquakinesis?"

"Aqua-what?"

Mera grinned. "Come on!"

She grabbed Arthur's hand and ran back to the water, plunging into it up to her ankles. She dropped his hand and held hers out, taking a deep breath to steady herself. As a wave rolled in, splashing up to her calf, she focused on the deep blue liquid.

Her palm began to glow. Arthur gasped.

Concentrating, she lifted up a ball of water. With the tip of her tongue poking out of her mouth, she shaped it into a rough whale. Moving her hand with it, she had it swim through the air in gentle arcs, circling the spot where she stood.

Arthur watched in awe. "That's so cool! Can everyone do that? Can I do that?"

Mera let it reform into a ball. "Nope," she answered proudly. "Only the people of Xebel can."

"Cool," he said again, reaching out to poke her ball of water.

An idea crossed her mind, and she smirked. "Remember getting sand all over my brand-new outfit?"

"Oh, uh, sorry-"

She hurled the ball at him, splattering his torso with water.

"Hey!" he shouted, a grin growing on his face.

"Revenge is sweet," she taunted.

He jumped at her, and she ran. Laughing, they chased each other across the beach for hours.

\-----

A few months later, Mera swam past the reef as fast as she could, plunging through schools of vibrant fish. Beside her, Arthur whooped with joy every time they sent the fish scattering, reveling in the chaos. Grinning, Mera angled towards another school, twirling as she swam into their midst. His whoop answered a heartbeat later, and Mera laughed.

Eventually, they reached the edge of the reef. Panting, they found a rocky outcrop to sit on, arms brushing casually as they settled side by side. "That was fun," Arthur said.

Mera nodded her agreement. "I wish we could meet more often." But Vulko and Atlanna only let her come a couple times a month, despite her flourishing friendship with the surface-dweller.

"I wish I could come visit you," he said longingly, gazing down into the depths.

"One day," Mera murmured. "One day, you'll see Atlantis and Xebel in all of their glory."

"Vulko says I have a little brother. Orm. What's he like?"

Mera gave a little shrug. "He's fun, I suppose. A little intense. Loves sparring. Our fathers are really pushing for us to spend more time together."

Arthur drew his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. "Do you think he'll like me?"

Mera nudged him lightly with her shoulder. "I don't see how he couldn't."

Arthur smiled. "I've been wondering – if you're from Xebel, why do you spend so much time in Atlantis?"

Mera tilted her head. "I… don't know, actually. My dad usually drops me off for a while and heads back to Xebel without me. Maybe it's because he wants me to be with Atlanna after my mom died?"

His face fell a little, and she regretted bringing up his mother. He tried to hide it, but she knew part of him was jealous that she had such a strong relationship with the mother he had no memories of. She leaned against him reassuringly.

"So, anything new?" she asked.

He perked up. "My pops is letting me get my first tattoo soon!"

"Really? What will it be?"

He tapped his left forearm. "It'll go here, a series of triangles alternating between light and dark. It's a tribute to 'aumakua, my family's ancestral guardian spirit, which for my family is a shark. It's supposed to take the darkness out of your heart and bring the light in."

"That's beautiful."

The smile was back on his face. "One day I'll have tattoos everywhere. I'm gonna look so cool."

Mera chuckled. "I don't doubt it."

Vulko came swimming up from the depths. "Come along, you two. It's time for Arthur's sparring lesson."

"You mean time for me kick his butt."

"Not this time," Arthur vowed. "This time, I'm gonna win."

Vulko smiled. "We shall see, my prince. We shall see."

He lost.

\-----

Mera huddled on her bed in the Atlantean palace, knees drawn up to her chest and her face buried in them. She cried, hiding from the adults. The adults who didn't care about anyone but themselves, who made cruel decisions with a second thought. Who destroyed lives and families out of simple, stupid spite.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Go away," she yelled through a sob.

They came in anyway – her father. "Mera," he murmured.

"No," she hissed. "No, go away."

He sat on the edge of her bed. "It was necessary, sweetheart."

"No, it wasn't! So what, she had another son? It's not like he's here to mess anything up!"

_Because he's stuck on the surface, with no idea his mother has been sentenced to death._

"The problem was her lie," her father told her. "She kept his existence a secret, and now his existence is a threat to Prince Orm's ascendance to Atlantis's throne. He may not intend it, but her half-breed firstborn _is_ a threat to this kingdom."

Mera wanted to scream. She wanted to scream that he wasn't, that he didn't even want to rule, that he just wanted to meet his mother and little brother and be a family. But she had kept him a secret for a year now, and seeing how the adults reacted to the mere idea of his existence, she knew that her and Vulko's relationship with him would meet fierce punishment. She wouldn't give Arthur or Vulko up now.

So she clamped her jaw shut and looked away from her father.

He sighed heavily. "I didn't come here to argue about Queen Atlanna's fate. I came here to tell you something."

Warily, she looked back at him. "What?"

He clasped his hands together in his lap. "I had hoped to spare you from this knowledge a while longer, but times have become urgent. Her lie has called into question the strength of Atlantis's government, and they must show they are indeed strong. The best way to do this at the moment is to make an announcement about the family's future, and you have a right to know before the public.

"When you are of age, you are to marry Prince Orm, thus uniting the kingdoms of Atlantis and Xebel."

Mera bolted to her feet, whirling to stare at her father. " _What_?"

"I know," he said, "I know an arranged marriage is the last thing you want. But this move is in the best interest of both of our kingdoms. It…"

He kept talking, explaining why it was smart, but Mera could hardly hear him over the ringing in her ears.

 _He's my best friend's brother. His little brother. I can't- I can't_ marry _him._

Guilt and grief rose within her like a hurricane, threatening to tear her apart. Unable to bear it, she raced from the room, ignoring her father calling her name. She just- she just had to get to him- to see him, to be near him, to explain-

She had hardly left the palace when Vulko caught her, dragging her into a shadowy alcove.

Mera tried futilely to pull away from him. "Let me go! I need to see Arthur!"

"We can, in a few days," he said, sounding way too calm. "To disappear now would be suspicious. We must wait for the scandal to calm."

"The scandal? The _scandal_? You talk as if this was merely a one-night stand that can be swept under the coral!" she snarled.

"I wish it were," he said, his voice pained. "I wish it were."

Mera stilled, rage giving way to pain. "I- I have to marry Orm now. How am I supposed to tell him that his mother is dead and I'll be marrying his brother?"

"You don't," he said simply.

Mera stared. "But-"

"We need Arthur happy and loyal to Atlantis," Vulko told her. "If he knew that the kingdom he so desperately wants to visit killed his mother for protecting him, he would abandon us. That is not what Atlanna would want."

"He deserves to know."

"You can tell him about your betrothal, if you wish," Vulko acquiesced. "But you know how he would interpret Atlanna's sentence: As his fault, the mongrel bastard son. Do you really wish to place that guilt upon his shoulders?"

Mera hesitated. "No," she finally murmured.

Vulko rested his hand on her shoulder. "I know it hurts," he murmured. "I wish circumstances were different. But Atlanna trusted us to protect him, and this must be how we do so."

Mera nodded, letting him pull her into a comforting hug.

And when they visited him two weeks later, she meant to tell him about her betrothal. But one look at his concerned eyes, wondering why they had disappeared, wondering why they looked so down, stole the words from her lips. He just wanted them to be safe and happy, and she wanted the same for him.

She couldn't break his heart. She couldn't lay her burdens on his shoulders.

So she stayed silent, pretending that his mother was alive and that she wasn't betrothed to his little brother.

\-----

They managed to keep the secret for two years. Every lie, from blatant ones to simple ones of omission, left a burning taste on her tongue, but to protect the smile on his face, she suffered through it. And somehow, despite the new distance she felt, their friendship grew stronger. They talked, and played with the creatures of the sea, and raced through the water together, pushing each other's strengths and abilities to new heights every time.

Now, she stood beside Vulko with her training spear. Arthur stood a few feet from them, holding Atlanna's trident. She looked at it, gleaming silver in the midday sunlight, and the thought once again swam through her mind, that she was glad he had that piece of her to carry with him.

Part of her mind wandered, noticing the growing muscles shown off by his tank top. She shook herself, listening to Vulko's words. "Mera will spar with you today," he was telling Arthur. "And demonstrate the use of a new move she recently learned."

The two teenagers stepped forward, into ready positions. They held their weapons with practiced ease, falling into the stances they had taken against each other what felt like a million times over the last three years. They waited, strategies flickering through their minds.

"Attack!"

They lunged forward together. Arthur ducked beneath her blow, turning his trident and swinging the side towards her legs. She leapt above it, swinging the blunt end of her spear out to knock it out of his hands. He fumbled, but ultimately held on. In the moment of distraction, she stabbed her spear towards his chest. He recovered just in time to duck. He swung his trident again, and this time she couldn't dodge in time. She went sprawling in the sand.

"Ha!"

She jumped back up, spitting out sand. "Oh, I'm not done."

Arthur watched through narrowed eyes as she backed into the sea. In the move she had just mastered a few days ago, she began to spin her spear. She twirled it around her wrist, faster and faster, spinning like a propeller.

As it hit the water, it began to pick it up, spinning it around like a rippling shield.

Arthur blinked, taking in the new obstacle. Then, with a shrug, he lunged at her.

The force of the water sent him flying backwards. Mera smirked.

He sat up, gaping. "No way. You're using aquakinesis, aren't you?"

"She is not," Vulko said, proceeding to demonstrate the same move on his own. Arthur stared between them, watching the shields in awe as he stood.

"When will you teach me how to do that?" he asked.

Mera let her staff fall still, looking to Vulko. "When you have mastered the trident."

Arthur glanced to the sea behind them. "And then I'll get to see Atlantis?"

Mera heard something in his tone. She narrowed her eyes, but Vulko kept talking. "Yes."

"Bull."

Mera started at the sudden anger in Arthur's expression. Vulko blinked, caught off-guard.

"You said I could visit Atlantis when I grew big and strong. Then when I could beat Mera in a race. And now I have to wait to master the trident?"

"Arthur-" Vulko tried.

"No! When will I get to see it? When will I see my mother?"

Mera took a step towards him. "Arthur…"

He looked at her, and she knew he'd recognized the heaviness in her tone. He shook his head, backing up. "Where's my mother? Why hasn't she ever visited me? Does- does she not love me?"

His voice cracked, broken by the weight of a lifetime of grief. And Mera couldn't take it anymore. Believing _anything_ was better than believing _that_.

"She's dead, Arthur," she whispered before Vulko could lie again. "She's dead."

"No," Arthur protested. "No, she can't be, she- she-"

Mera closed her eyes, heart breaking at his pain. "They found out about you, and King Orvax was jealous. Ridiculously jealous. So he… he sacrificed her to the Trench. And no Atlantean has ever returned from there."

When Arthur didn't respond, she hesitantly reopened her eyes. He was staring at her, tears falling down his cheeks, betrayal darkening his normally lively eyes. "How long?"

"Two years," Vulko admitted quietly.

"My mother was _killed_ because of _me_ , and you two _lied_ to my face about it for _two years_?" Arthur snarled.

"We wanted to protect you-" Mera started.

"No!" he snapped. "No, if you cared about me, you would've told me two years ago. Especially you, Mera. I thought you were my best friend. Guess I was wrong."

With that, he turned on his heel, marching down the beach.

Mera tried to follow him. "Arthur! Arthur, wait!"

"Leave me alone!" he yelled, picking up the pace until he was running.

Mera picked up her own pace, tears falling from her own eyes as she screamed his name. But he had always been faster than her on land, and he disappeared from her view long before she could catch up. Leaving her alone, wishing the sea would take away her tears.

\-----

It was eighteen long years before she saw him again. Eighteen long years before Orm's darkness grew powerful enough to push Mera back to the surface. Back to the surface she had grown to hate again, blaming it for the separation, for Atlanna's death, for Arthur turning his back on Atlantis. On her.

But she rose from the water nonetheless, and for the first time in too long, she saw him.

He helped his drunken father into a rusty… truck, she remembered. And she saw that he had grown. He was the big, strong, heavily tattooed man he had always dreamed of being, his hair longer but otherwise as wavy and messy as ever. The sight of him, simultaneously unrecognizable and the same boy she had known, made her waver. He looked happy. Was he happier without her?

He decided for her. As if sensing her presence, he turned around, a storm of emotions crashing through his eyes. She held her breath, wondering what he would say.

"Hi."

"Hello."

They lapsed back into silence. _Oh, it can't end there._ "I missed you."

He crossed his arms. "I miss the Mera that didn't lie to me."

She suppressed a wince. "I thought I was protecting you."

"Yeah, well, you thought wrong." He started to open the truck's door. "Bye."

"Wait! Wait, Arthur, I'm not here for me."

He huffed. "Vulko?"

"Atlantis."

He slammed the door shut. "I don't want anything to do with Atlantis. Not them, or Xebel, or Vulko, or you."

His rage, albeit well-placed, broke her heart. But she lifted her chin, refusing to give into the pain, refusing to give up on him. "And what about the surface world?"

That caught his attention. "What about it?" he asked warily.

"Your brother seeks to become Ocean Master, so that he can attack the surface world. He believes that is the best way to stop the destruction of our oceans."

"And what am I supposed to do about it?"

"Take the throne. It is your birthright, after all."

"My birthright," he said, voice low and throbbing with rage, "was to lose my mother at three years old, and again at sixteen. My birthright was to never meet her, to be forever shunned from one world because I dare to belong to a second. I don't want that world's throne. I never have, and I never will."

"And that is selfish," Mera snapped. "Both worlds need you, Arthur. You cannot abandon them."

"Why not? They abandoned me."

"You left us too!"

He yanked the door back open. "You gave me no choice. I'm not going to Atlantis, Mera. Find someone else to be your champion."

"Arthur, wait-"

He got in the truck and drove away.

Mera groaned, dragging her hands down her face. _That wasn't the reunion Vulko was hoping for. I just pushed him further away._

"Hey, pretty lady. You lost?"

Not even looking at the human who reeked of alcohol, she marched away, slipping back into the water. But she didn't make it far before she felt it moving unnaturally, sucking away from the shore. She paused, looking around. Her heart stopped.

There was a massive wave headed straight for the shore.

_Arthur._

She spun, racing back to the shore. The wave beat her there, and suddenly the water was swarming with debris, trees and cars and chunks of buildings and things Mera had no name for. She dodged it all, searching desperately, praying he had escaped the destruction. That his dad had escaped it.

But then she heard him. "Dad!" he yelled, voice muffled by distance. "Dad!"

She angled towards his voice, scanning the water. There. Movement. Arthur, struggling to reach his truck. And Mera could see his dad silhouetted inside, unmoving.

She called upon her aquakinesis. With a scream of effort, she hauled the raging ocean apart, forcing the frothing waters aside. Her feet found solid ground, and she braced against it. Arthur turned, staring at her in an awe she recognized before running to pull his dad from the truck. He laid him on the ground, and as the wave receded on its own, Mera let go of the water and ran to his side.

"He's not breathing!" he exclaimed, panicking. He started pressing down on his dad's chest, as if breaking his ribs would help.

"Move," Mera ordered, dropping into a crouch on his other side. Willing her hand to stop trembling from exertion, she held it over his dad's mouth, feeling for the water invading his lungs. Carefully, she extracted it.

He coughed to life, and Arthur pulled him into a hug. Mera sat back, slumping in exhaustion. He let out a shaky sigh of relief, looking up at Mera, and for the moment, he had forgotten the betrayal. "Thank you."

"You never have to thank me for that," she murmured.

Arthur swallowed, looking out at the ocean. "Orm?"

Mera nodded. "Please, Arthur. If not for me, then do it for your dad."

Arthur sighed, leaning his forehead against his dad's. "All right. All right, I'll come to Atlantis with you."

\-----

And of course, she lost him almost immediately. The soldiers came crashing into the safehouse, and she tried to scramble out to help him. But Vulko grabbed her, pulling her into hiding, reminding her that she couldn't be seen with Arthur. And it made sense, but as they beat Arthur into the ground and all she did was run away, the guilt tore at her.

It only worsened when she had to insult him to protect him. Another lie, another harmful lie. He wasn't an imbecile. Reckless, impulsive, yes, but stupid was not one of his qualities.

And it didn't even work. She had to let Vulko lead her away from him as he was taken to prepare for the challenge, for the challenge he couldn't possibly win, not underwater. He would put on old, broken armor, while she donned a ballgown. Orm came to fetch her, and she drifted along on his arm to the preparation room.

"What would your mother think of her sons trying to kill each other?" she asked him.

Orm glanced at her, and she prayed she hadn't just betrayed her true loyalties. "He is no son of Atlanna's," he answered firmly. "He turned his back on her kingdom and the heritage with it. He has no right to return now."

She pulled away from him, her gaze falling upon Arthur as he entered with Vulko. He looked her over. "Nice dress."

"Thank you."

"Vulko," Orm said, "please escort my fiancée to the royal box. It has the best view."

_Fiancée._

Arthur looked at her, pain in his eyes. Mera dropped her gaze to the bracelet Orm had given her, the only remnant of Atlanna she had. _I'm sorry,_ she thought. _I'm sorry I couldn't protect him, and I'm sorry I lied._

Vulko slipped his arm around hers and guided her away.

"You know," he said once they were out of earshot, his tone full of forced lightness, "if Arthur does win, you technically still have to marry Atlantis's king."

"Vulko!"

"Simply trying to ease the tension."

"Ease it a different way. I- he's my best friend."

"The best romances begin with a strong friendship, my princess."

" _Vulko_."

"All right, all right, I'll stop now."

They settled in the royal box. At first, the fight did seem fairly even. Arthur managed to land a couple blows, dodging most of Orm's. He even nearly plunged him into the flames below. Mera held her breath through it all, flinching every time Arthur took a hit.

But that's when things changed. Enraged, Orm hurtled upwards, knocking Arthur far and hard. His impact broke stone, and after that he was scrambling. Scrambling for purchase, to land another hit, to fend off Orm.

Then Orm shattered Atlanna's trident.

Arthur fell to his knees, clutching the broken halves in despair.

Unable to bear it anymore, Mera raced to his defense. She took the decades of pain and guilt and rage and turned it into a torrent of water, crushing Orm beneath the strength of it, crushing the son of the man who had ruined everything. Then she grabbed Arthur and fled. She fled her home, her nation, her duty, all for the best friend who had abandoned her.

\-----

She climbed the statue, rising onto her tiptoes to peer through the bottle. Height was hardly a problem underwater – if you were too short, you just floated higher. But here, fighting gravity on the back of an old statue, she wondered how short humans functioned.

The stones shifted beneath her feet, and she fell back with a yelp. Right into Arthur's arms. She turned, and he was grinning. "Remember when you were taller than me?"

Mera pursed her lips. "Shush."

Their eyes met, lingering on each other, and Vulko's words echoed in her mind: _The best romances begin with a strong friendship._

But was their friendship strong? They had slipped back into old patterns of banter easily enough, and of course they had protected each other, but that was one thing. Regaining the trust she had lost was an entirely different thing all together.

She remembered the moment in the cave, when Arthur had grabbed her hand and pulled her back. He had held onto her longer than necessary, not even noticing until he saw her looking at their joined hands. He pulled away, and now she wondered, was it the old sting, or a new awkwardness?

Arthur cleared his throat, nodding at the statue. "Not bad for an imbecile, huh?"

"You- you know I don't actually think that, right?"

"Yeah," Arthur murmured, and the lack of hesitation relieved her. "I know."

For a heartbeat, she thought she was leaning towards him. And he towards her.

Then the statue exploded, and the human with Atlantean technology attacked. Arthur was sent flying, and she screamed his name, but three Atlanteans intercepted her attempt to run after him. So she fought. She fought like hell to get to him, willing to kill her own soldiers, because she had to protect him. She _had_ to.

But when she got to him, he was burned and bleeding. She fell to her knees, cradling his head. "They're tracking you," he rasped weakly.

Mera glanced at the bracelet. _Damn him. Using Atlanna against me._

By the time she smashed it, Arthur had fallen unconscious.

_No. No no no no no._

"Arthur? Arthur! Arthur, stay with me. Stay with me!"

\-----

It was hours before he stirred. Sitting beside him at the front of boat, she jumped at the first sign of waking. "Arthur?" she murmured, cupping his cheek. "Arthur, can you hear me?"

"Ow," he groaned in response. Gingerly, he sat up, and Mera helped him prop himself up against the bags of something. He looked down, appraising his injuries, and poked the moss on his shoulder. "What the hell?"

She knocked his hand away. "Moss and seaweed. They prevent infection and speed up healing in all of the underwater peoples."

"Oh. That would've been helpful years ago."

Suddenly realizing her hand was lingering on his very large pectoral, she pulled back. Arthur glanced down, a mischievous smirk crossing his face. "Oh, shush," she grumbled, crossing her arms tightly.

"You're, uh… you don't look so bad yourself."

"…Thanks?"

Arthur cleared his throat, focusing a little too hard on undoing the bun she had put his hair in. "Look, about what happened on the beach eighteen years ago…"

"I shouldn't have lied," Mera said, dropping her gaze. "About Atlanna or Orm. I thought I was protecting you, but I was wrong. Waiting only hurt you more. And I'm sorry. I am truly sorry."

Hesitantly, Arthur laid his hand over hers. "I know," he whispered. "And I shouldn't have left you like that. I should've heard you out, at least."

Mera let out a sigh of relief she'd been holding for twenty years, squeezing his hand. "I've missed you."

Beneath the light of the sunset, their fingers twined together. "I missed you, too."

\-----

Fighting the vortex, Mera strained for Arthur's hand. He was right there, their fingertips brushing, fingers almost curling together-

The current yanked her away, flinging her into a rock formation. Her head knocked against it, sending the world spinning. She fell limp, her limbs not responding to the need to swim, even as the shadow of a massive creature with many sharp teeth bore down on her.

Someone slammed into her, carrying her to shore. But it wasn't Arthur.

On her back on the beach, Mera stared upwards, into an impossible face. "Atlanna?" she breathed.

Atlanna crouched beside her, eyes wide in astonishment. "Mera?"

"Mera!"

She pushed herself up, helped by Atlanna. Arthur came running out of the water, but when Atlanna turned, he slowed to a halt. Emotions flickered across his face, joy and hope and disbelief and guilt, chasing each other round and round.

Atlanna took slow steps forward, a smile growing on her face. "Arthur," she breathed.

"Mom?"

His voice cracked, just like that day on that beach, but this time because of hope.

Atlanna swept him into a hug, and he clung to her, his formidable bulk forgotten as he melted into her touch for the first time since he was three, somehow looking as vulnerable as a child.

After a minute, Atlanna looked around, and held her hand out to Mera. "Come here, darling," she murmured.

Mera didn't hesitate to melt into the hug too, holding Atlanna and Arthur close.

\-----

As Arthur emerged with Atlan's trident, new armor gleaming on his body, pride swelled within Mera. This was his birthright – not a ruler, but a unifier. And as she dove into the water beside Atlanna, following Arthur and the Karathen to the battling armies of the four kingdoms, her pride only grew.

But this was war. And she knew what war could mean, even to the most powerful of opponents.

Hitching a ride on an orca, she swam up to join Arthur. The battle seemed to fade into the background as they looked at each other. "Not bad," Mera said, "for a guy whose unique superpower is talking to fish."

Arthur laughed, drifting closer. "I can be badass on occasion."

Mera smiled. "Just be careful out there."

"I'll try," he promised, quiet and genuine. He looked at her, as if trying to find the right words to say, and she knew she was looking at him in the exact same way. So she did the one thing she could think of.

She kissed him.

She cupped his face in both hands and kissed him, one leg wrapping around his to hold herself in place. He was startled for a heartbeat, and she worried she had misinterpreted everything. Then he was kissing her back, his arms coming up to hold her waist, pulling her close, eliminating every bit of space between them.

Surrounded by the explosions of battle, they kissed fiercely, letting the gesture say everything their words didn't have the time to, making up for eighteen years of lost time.

_I'm here to stay._

_No more lies._

_I love you._


End file.
